An unofficial Croydon, Sutton and Surrey Green Party blog by Shasha Khan. Having lived in Croydon most of my life, I now live just outside the south west of the borough in Woodmansterne.

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Cane Hill development

Letter from Jay Ginn:

This housing plan on Green Belt land is
flawed but residents concerns are being dismissed. These include the scale,
location, environmental impact, extra traffic and pressure on local schools.
Can the plan revitalise Coulsdon and provide affordable homes?

The scale (675
homes) is large for a small town. Against Green Belt planning guidance, the
developmentoccupies three times the old
hospital’s footprint. This land grab destroys prized chalk grassland, wildlife
habitat and the vital water-retaining capacity of undeveloped hillside.

Traffic is
often gridlocked in nearby roads and houses near the top of Cane Hill will be
remote from Coulsdon, increasing car-dependency. Developers’ claim - ‘no
significant impact on congestion’ - is not credible. Existing parking space
cannot absorb more cars, while Coulsdon’s public car park is to be replaced by
a megastore. Local shops may suffer reduced trade, thwarting the aim of
regeneration.

School places are limited and the development, combined with Netherne’s children
attending Coulsdon schools, means more local children being excluded from
neighbourhood schools.

London’shousing crisis is shared by Croydon. But how will this
development help first-time buyers and low income households in overcrowded
homes or B&B? Only 25% of Cane Hill homes are designated ‘affordable’. If
this means 3-5 times average local income and average Croydon earnings are
£29,000pa, will 25% of homes be priced between £87,000-£145,000? Will the
remaining 75% be within reach of local people on modest incomes? Or will Cane
Hill attract wealthy buyers from far afield while bringing no reduction in
house prices or housing need in Croydon? To address these, we must build more
social housing for local people at affordable rents, end the Right to Buy and
cap private rents.

Meanwhile, Cane Hill plans need a radical
rethink.

The letter was published:

from Croydon Advertiser

My Green party colleague Dr Jay Ginn sent in an excellent letter to the Croydon Advertiser regarding the Cane Hill development. A few weeks later the development was put on hold! Of course it would be churlish to attribute the decision to one letter, but Jay's letter was certainly part of the "public outcry". See link below.